Challenges of the Mind
by SillyBellaEdwardsForMe
Summary: Sequel to Challenges of the Heart. It is still an EdwardBella romance story. Rating may change, depends on my mood. Chapter five is up! Sorry about the wait.
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: I do not own _Twilight_ or _New Moon_ although I wish I did! It is my hope that I could be as good of a writer like Stephenie Myer one day. _Although_ if she _were_ to give me the rights to her amazing books. . . I definitely wouldn't complain! (Hint, Hint Stephenie!)

Challenges of the Mind

Chapter One

I was crying and I didn't care who knew it. Charlie had yelled at me for not coming home, I had mumbled something about something. I don't quite remember what I said, for all I know I told him the truth. I was in a state of shock for the first time in my life.

I had just finished walking up the stairs when the cell phone Edward gave me for me began to ring. I had used my numb fingers to attempt to quickly open the phone. It was Edward, I sighed in relief. "Hello?"

"Oh, thank God, Bella. Are you ok? Are you hurt? Did those dogs harm you? I'll kill them!"

I let out a hesitant laugh. Same old Edward. "Edward? I'm fine, just fine, physically at least. Mentally? I'm not so sure about."

"What do you mean Bella?" He asked sharply. Wow, he could be so dense sometimes.

"Well, for starters, YOU"RE GONE!!" I exclaimed. Then I started to whin, "And I saw Sam naked, and Jake–"

"YOU WHAT?!" He yelled. Obviously Alice didn't see that little tid-bit, or she didn't just didn't fill him.

"Not important at the this time Eddiekins." The only reason I called him this is because it's then he seeps in anger and actually shuts up. "As I was saying, Jake was being an ass, and I really, really want you back here with me." I started to cry again. "Please Edward, find a way that we can see each other again!"

"Bella, Bella, Bella, its ok. Our family is talking about right now, we will co–" He cut off and started arguing with someone. He sighed, "Bella? Alice wants to talk to you, in fact she wearing off my ears right now. I love you Bella, and I will talk to you soon."

"I love you to Edward." I could practically hear his smile over the phone. The phone was then passed to a different pair of hands.

"Bella!!" Alice squealed, "I miss you! We are doing everything we can to get back to you! Emmett and Rosalie came back and are helping us also. Edward, Emmett, and Rosalie are all furious. Edward is being, well, Edward. Emmett is being the usual hot head. Rosalie is so mad though. She is over here ranting, saying how they, the pack, have no right to split up two people in love. I guess she loves you after all! Aaah! I got to go, I'm getting a Rosalie death glare. I guess she didn't want you to know that. Ow! Ok, ok, Rose, I am getting off the phone now!" She sighed, "I guess I will talk to you later. Ooh! When we get back, we can go shopping, and give you a make over! Yay! Until then, bye!" The phone clicked.

What just happened? In one single paragraph, Alice had somehow managed to condemn me to shopping and being a barbie. God help us all!

Even though it was still pretty early, I went and had my human minute. While I was taking my shower, I allowed the hot water to massage away all of the tension my muscles were feeling. After awhile the hot water began to run out, so I quickly grabbed my strawberry shampoo and massaged it into my hair. I rinsed out all of the grit that had made it's way into my scalp during my adventure of the day. I stepped out of the shower and got dressed.

As I made my way to my bedroom, I half expected to see Edward lying on my bed with a crooked smile inhabiting his face. But, of course, he wasn't. I slowly walked up to my bed and lied down. I could still smell my Adonis look alike on my blanket, I held it up to my nose and breathed in deeply.

I was really tired so I went to sleep with my lullaby playing in my CD player. While I was sleeping, I had the most horrific dream.

_Edward, Jacob, and I were in a hotel parking lot. Edward was snarling at Jake, who was shaking uncontrollably. "Bella, here is the key, the room number is on it, go in there and don't come out." Edward handed me a plastic hotel key and pushed me towards the entrance, I hadn't gone five steps when I heard the sound of ripping fabric, I twirled around in time to see Jacob exploding in a mass of fur. "Bella, GO!" I could see Edward yelling at me, but I couldn't hear hi. I couldn't move either. Damn it, Bella run!" Ok that I heard, but I still didn't move, I stared transfixed at the sight in front of me. I swallowed. Why wasn't I moving? Move! I screamed at myself. All of a sudden, Jake lunged at Edward, hitting him in the chest. I began to scream. . _

I woke up screaming. Charlie came running in with his gun. "Bella! What's wrong?" I shook my head.

"Just a nightmare dad. Ugh. Please put that gone away before you hurt someone."

He looked at me in concern, his forehead crumpling, "Are you sure your ok Bells? You were screaming like someone was being attacked." I let out a hollow laugh, he didn't know how right he was. Good thing I don't have prophetic dreams, right?

"Sorry dad, I didn't mean to scare you. It was just a very vivid dream, that enjoy quite that much.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I shook my head, he wouldn't understand. "Well, if your sure. . ." He stood up and walked away. As soon as he shut the door, my cell began to vibrate in my pocket. I swiftly took the phone out and flipped it open. "Hello?"

"Bella, are you ok? Alice had a vision of you screaming in fear, and Charlie coming in with a gun! What happened? Are you ok? Bella, answer me!"

"Edward, I'm fine. I just had a nightmare, it's fine. Although it would be better if you were here to comfort me." I said pouting.

"I know, I know Bella. Speaking of being together, we need you to go downstairs and tell Charlie you want to go to Phoenix to see some old friends, then you need to go to the airport and ask for tickets reserved for Isabella Swan. You will then ride first class down to Phoenix, and Alice and I will pick you up at the airport. And don't worry, this plan will work, Alice saw it in her vision. So go ahead and pack your bags up Bella. You need to be at the airport for your flight in two hours so have Charlie take the cruiser, or else you will never make it. Ok?"

I was jumping for joy. "Ok. I will go down and talk to Charlie now! Bye!" I hung up on him. I laughed imagining the shock on his face when he realized I was no longer on the phone. I ran down the stairs yelling, "Dad! Dad!" I reached the bottom of the stairs and ran into the living room to see Charlie watching the game with none other than Billy Black, who was in his unneeded wheelchair. I glared at him, then turned to Charlie and said in my most stricken voice, "Dad, I was wondering if I could go down to Phoenix to see Lizzy. She just called and said that her mom had another stroke, and that she really wants me to be there. She already bought the plane tickets and I need to be at the airport in two hours." I began to cry, "Please daddy let me go, you know how much her mom mean to me." I began to sob. Charlie had looked shocked ever since the word daddy. He nodded his head and said, "Of course Bella, just go get packed, and I will drive you to the airport."

"Thank you daddy!" I hugged him and before I ran up the steps again, I stole a glance a Billy, who was looking at me suspiciously. I gave him a triumphant look and raced up the stairs. I quickly packed my bag, and ran down the stairs again. It's amazing how I haven't fell down the stairs once isn't it? When I got into the livingroom Charlie wasn't there. I looked questioningly at Billy.

"He is in the car waiting for you Bella. I hope you know that I don't trust you. Your off visiting the Cullens and I know it. If you remember , you were forbidden to ever see them again!"

I narrowed my eyes, "Uh. . . wrong! You said they could never come to Washington again, and I have you know, Lizzy's mom really did have a stroke and wants me to come down and visit her mom." It was all true, I just wasn't speaking of a recent stroke.

I left Billy and rushed out to the cruiser. I jumped into the car and said, "Hurry dad! We have to get their in an hour and a half." Charlie nodded and pushed down on the pedal, he started the siren so he wouldn't get pulled over. Hah! Can you imagine the irony in that, Charlie Swan, Chief of Police, gets pulled over for speeding. The ride over to the airport was quite humorous, people kept pulling over thinking they were speeding or something. One car even drove off of the highway and headed towards a service road speeding. I giggled, I wonder what they did.

Eventually we got to the airport, I quickly kissed Charlie's cheek and rushed into the airport. I looked at my watch, twelve minutes left. As soon as I looked up I groaned, Lines. All of the ticket people had extremely long lines. I raced up to the front of the shortest line. In the second spot was a guy my age, waiting patiently for his turn. "Excuse me sir? I was wondering if I could somehow cut in front of you, I have to catch my plane in exactly ten minutes and thirty-two seconds. Please it's an emergency! I have to catch this flight! My mom had a serious stroke and she is in ICU, the next flight isn't until tomorrow at three! Please!" He looked at me with sympathy and nodded. I quickly reached up and hugged him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He blushed. Hah! I thought only I did that.

"Next." I blew out some air and rushed to woman in charge. I was breathing heavily from all of my running and adrenalin rushing through my veins, but I somehow managed to gasp out, "One ticket to Phoenix, Arizona, reserved for Isabella Swan." She nodded and said, "Identification?" I had already thrown my driver licence before she had even finished the word. She inspected it, nodded, and walked off after giving my licence back to me. I glanced at my watch, four minutes and forty-one seconds. She finally came back, handed me my ticket and said, "I hope you have a nice flight Ms. Swan." I was already gone looking for terminal 36B. I glanced up, 32B and 36B was right ahead of me. The speaker above me said, "Last call for flight 3345 headed towards Phoenix, Arizona."

I stopped at the flight attendant and handed her my ticket. She smiled warmly and said, "Hope you enjoy your flight. Just hand this ticket stub to the lady at the plane entrance and she will take you to your seat in first class. I nodded and raced down the tunnel. First class? I thought as I was running. Who said anything about first class? Edward, I growled inside my head.

I handed the stub to the lady, and she took me through a red curtain. She took me to my seat. As soon as I sat down, I blew air out of my lungs finally able to attempt to slow my heart down.

It was a short flight, but it was extremely annoying, flight attendants kept coming up and asking if I wanted anything. I would always say no, but they kept coming back! Finally, the pilot spoke saying that we were about to land . I sighed in relief. All of this stress wasn't good for the mind! The plane landed with a jolt. As soon as the pilot said we were free to leave, I was up and out of my seat in two seconds flat. As soon as I came out of the tunnel, I was wrapped in a familiar pair of arms. Edward. He kissed the top of my head, then stiffened. He growled. I turned around to see what he was growling at. I grimaced. The pack had come to Arizona, and they did not look happy.


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

I gulped. There was no way this could be coincidental. Billy told. Edward's growling became more pronounced and it was starting to gather the attention of passerby passengers. I tugged on Edward's arm, but he didn't seem to notice. I tugged harder. He glanced down at me then looked at Sam again. Alice and Edward stepped in front of me protectively me right as Sam and Jacob took a step forward. Sam stopped and motioned with his hand for Jacob to join him. They both smirked, then Sam said boldly, "I thought we said you could never see Bella again or else we would kill all of you, Bella included." Uh oh, not good, not good at all.

Carlisle stepped forward and said coldly, "On the contrary, Sam. I believe your exact words were, 'Get out of Washington and never come back. Only then will we release Bella. If you dare step into Washington again, either us or our sons to come, will kill you. You have one hour, now GO!'. Am I mistaken? Were those or were those not your words? I have an excellent memory, so I don't I am the one mistaken. Also if my memory serves me right, we are not in Washington, but in Arizona. Would you like a map of the United States? Rosalie go get them a map, they obviously need one." Rosalie smirked and walked off.

Go Carlisle! I started to quietly laugh, Edward poked my side to silence me. I sighed, I guess it's not the time for laughing matters. Oh well. All of the werewolves, excluding Sam, were seething in anger. Oh, look there is Rosalie! I snorted when she opened the map and walked over to Sam. Smiling, she said, "Ok it's not that hard, even for your little doggy brain." She pointed at the map. "Ok, this is Washington state, it is in the uppermost east corner of the U.S.A. Now this is Arizona. We are here. You should be all the way up there. Now, you said we couldn't go into Washington, we are saying you can't go anywhere else." She pulled another map out of her back pocket. "Now this is a map of Washington, I bought you this so you don't get lost in that big, big state. I mean even though there are all those signs that say– oh wait I forgot, apparently Carlisle did to." She put her right hand to her heart and said in a very sad voice, "Dogs can't read! I guess these maps won't be any good to you. Oh! I know! We can take you to edge, and let you mark you territory, then you can tell by your scent!"

I couldn't hold it in any more, I burst out laughing, Emmett soon joined me only to be silence by Esme's stern glare. Edward had to poke me to quit laughing again. I looked at Sam again, they were all furious. Jacob had obviously had enough, for he walked right up to Rosalie and slapped her. Alice and Jasper both jumped forward at the same time. Alice quickly grabbed Rosalie and Jasper strained to keep a good grip on Emmett. Emmett was furious, if looks could kill, Jacob wouldn't be eight feet under, he'd be eight hundred feet under.

After that everyone started yelling, not caring that they were in an airport, Even Esme and Carlisle were yelling. Edward quickly grabbed me and walked quickly out of the airport, as soon as we were out he rushed into the parking lot to really expensive car. He through me in the passenger seat, buckled me up, and jumped into the driver's seat. As he raced out of the parking lot, I clasped my hands together in my lap and said, "So, how was our day so far?" He looked at me incredulously and burst out laughing.

Once he managed to quit laughing he said, "Fine, a little lonely with out you, but fine. Nothing has been amiss. How was your day?" He was still chuckling when I answered., "Same, same. I s there any chance you will tell me where we are headed?"

"We are headed to the hotel. Once there, we will wait for our family to come and we will discuss our plans with you." I nodded and waited for us to get to the hotel. Seconds later we were pulling into a parking lot. Edward came over to my side of the car and let me out. I looked around. For some reason it looked familiar but I couldn't place it, I hadn't been here before, had I? Edward looked at me and said with a smile, "Welcome back to me my love." I grinned and jumped up into his arms. He leaned down, placing his lips on mine kissing me with more passion than he ever had before. I put my arms around his neck, tangling my fingers into his hair. His tongue ran across my bottom lip, I parted my lips slightly allowing him entrance. After a few minutes, he pulled away smiling and said, "I love you Bella, I love you with all my heart."

I smiled, just as I was about to reply, a voice from behind Edward said, "Ahh, how touching. The leech loves the human. Who would have thought?" Edward turned around and began to snarl. I froze. I remembered where I saw the parking lot now. It was from my dream. Edward was snarling at Jake, who was shaking uncontrollably. "Bella, here is the key, the room number is on it, go in there and don't come out." Edward handed me a plastic hotel key and pushed me towards the entrance, I hadn't gone five steps when I heard the sound of ripping fabric, I twirled around in time to see Jacob exploding in a mass of fur. "Bella, GO!" I could see Edward yelling at me, but I couldn't hear him. I couldn't move either. "Damn it, Bella run!" Ok that I heard, but I still didn't move, I stared transfixed at the sight in front of me. I swallowed. Why wasn't I moving? Move! I screamed at myself. All of a sudden, Jake lunged at Edward, hitting him in the chest. I began to scream, when a blur of black and white grabbed me in strong arms and took me up to the hotel.

Alice used her own card to get us into the room. She set me onto the bed and said, "Stay here!" and then she was gone. I rushed to the window and looked out. I saw six wolves going against seven vampires. I didn't know if they were good odds or not, but I really hoped that odds were favoring Edward and the rest of the Cullens.

It hurt me knowing I could do nothing but watch. Edward was still going against Jacob, Jasper, Alice, Emmett, Rosalie, and Carlisle all were fighting their own wolf. Esme, however was nowhere in sight. All of a sudden a hand rested on my shoulder. I jumped and looked around. It was Esme, I smiled in relief. She grabbed my hand and pulled me to the bed. "You shouldn't watch that. It isn't good for the mind, it's too much of challenge for it. Watching your beloved fighting to the death it isn't healthy." She smiled warmly.

I knew that we had nothing to do but wait, and we could both tell, it was going to be a very long wait.


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

The fight seemed to last for hours. I don't know who it was bothering more, me or Esme, Esme was acting as if nothing was bothering her, just acting like it was a normal day, and that she enjoyed sitting here watching me, when her husband was outside fighting a werewolf out there, in the middle of a parking lot. Hmm, I'm surprised no one has seen them yet, you would think people would notice when there are six huge wolves and six extremely fast and strong "humans" were fighting. Guess not. I sighed. This was going to go on forever! I looked at the time and sighed. They had been fighting for more than an hour! I really wanted to look out the window to see what was happening, but somebody was letting me. I sighed impatiently. Wow, I seem to be doing a lot a sighing lately. And fainting. And there was a lot of cackling. Why am i thinking about this right now?

Esme put her hand on my back to comfort me and said, "Go to sleep. I will wake you up when they get back. You need the sleep, you look exhausted. How many hours of sleep have you gotten in the last forty-eight hours?"

I smiled sheepishly, "Five."

"WHAT! Bella, you need more sleep than that! You are supposed to how at least eight hours every night! What am I going to do with you!" I started to smile sheepishly again when I noticed that it wasn't Esme that had spoke. It was Edward that had spoken! By the time I spun around, Esme was already up and at the door . . . The Cullens were back. I smiled, jumped up, and ran to Edward. He wrapped me in his arms and held me as tightly as he could without crushing every bone in my body, and cause internal bleeding.

"Are you ok? What happened with the pack? Can you come to Forks again? What happened?" I was on the borderline of hysteria. I was going frantic for answers.

"Shh." He whispered in my ear, "All in good time Bella, all in good time." What kind of answer was that? I wanted to know, and I wanted to know now! Ok, I think the lack of sleep has a weird effect on me. I guess I tend to act childish when I am actually about to fall where I am standing. I decided to keep my mouth shut, I was much too tired to do any arguing.

I breathed in his delicious scent and allowed my eyes to droop. The last thing I remembered before I slipped in unconsciousness was Edward picking me up and Esme saying, "The poor dear, she was practically dead on her feet."

SBEFMSBEFMSBEFMSBEFMSBEFMSBEFMSBEFMSBEFMSBEFMSBEFM When I woke up I refused to open my eyes. Inside I was hoping that it was all a dream, that I hadn't been kidnaped about a zillion times, that the Cullens and the Pack didn't get into a huge fight in a hotel parking lot, and that it was the day after my birthday, with nothing have gone amiss. I opened my eyes. No such luck. I glanced around, I was in an empty hotel room, with no one in there but me and Edward. Edward was lying peacefully next to me with his eyes shut. His breathing deep and heavy, almost like he was asleep.

Rubbing my eyes and yawning, I sat up. As soon as Edward felt movement his eyes flickered open only to catch mine with his beautiful golden eyes. With a slight smile on his face, he sat up and wrapped his arms around me.

I snuggled in closer to him, and murmured senseless words. Closing my eyes, I allowed my head to rest on his shoulders. Just as I was drifting off again, I felt him lay me back down on the bed and press his cold, yet comforting lips on my forehead.

SBEFMSBEFMSBEFMSBEFMSBEFMSBEFMSBEFMSBEFMSBEFMSBEFM

I woke up once again hoping that it was all a dream, and once again, no such luck. Edward's arm was still wrapped around me protectively, I smiled, always the protector. Laughing to myself, I thought about how just the other day he was getting on my nerves with all of his 'I'm putting Bella in danger, therefor I have to protect her'. I mean its nice sometimes, but others . . . It can be just be downright annoying!

Turning my body so I was facing Edward, I heard him whisper softly in my ear, "Are you awake?" Grunting an affirmative, I moved myself even closer to him. I obviously didn't feel like talking. I just wanted to lie there, next to my beautiful Adonis. Letting out a huge yet silent yawn, stretching my back only enough to hear three feint pops.

Edward then turned his head so he could whisper, "Come on Bella, it is time to get up. Charlie is probably busting a few blood vessels as we speak. Come on sleepy head, time to get up." When I didn't get up or show any sign that I was planning on getting up, Edward got a mischievous look on his face and muttered, "If you don't get up, I will get Alice in here and have her get you ready for a day long shopping trip," Before the words were even completely out of his mouth, I was up and heading towards the shower for my human minute. Just as I was closing the door, I could hear him chuckling to himself, and a soft whine that sounded a lot like a disappointed Alice.

After I finished my shower and got dressed, I ran my fingers through my long brown hair, trying to get rid of some of the tangles that had permanently etched themselves into my skull. "Ok, I'm looking as decent as its going to get." Edward came to me, wrapping his strong arms around me, holding me in a protective shell.

"Wrong, you look a lot better than decent, you look beautiful."

SBEFMSBEFMSBEFMSBEFMSBEFMSBEFMSBEFMSBEFMSBEFMSBEFM

Sorry about the delay! I am almost done with chapter 4, so dont worry!


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

All of the Cullen's cars were split up between the family. Esme and Carlisle took the Ashton Martin (guess), Jasper and Alice took the Mercedes, Emmett took the Jeep, Rosalie took her car, and Edward and I took the Volvo. The car ride back to Forks was excruciatingly quiet. No one was talking. Normally one of us would start a conversation and that would spark the interest of the other person. This time, I couldn't hear any thing but my breathing and my heart beat. Yes, my heart beat. That is how quiet it was. I was seriously about to go crazy!

Trying to get Edward's attention, I cleared my throat. Nothing, not even a glance. Crossing my arms, I let out a long sigh. Nothing, nada. I looked up and began to shake my head. "Edward, if you don't start talking, I will scream." I was serious to. I was about to scream. When Edward made no notion that he was about to talk, I opened my moth took a deep breath and was about to scream, when I was interrupted by ring. Edward brought the phone up to his ears and gave me a worried glance. Great, something must have happened. Again.

Edward didn't say one single thing to the person on the phone, he just set the phone down and looked at me again. Grumbling, I just asked, "What's wrong now?" He looked at me questioningly for a second before he burst out laughing. What was with all the laughing he was doing lately? I guess it's better than complaining.

"Bella, nothing is wrong. Alice just called to say that if I don't start talking you would actually scream. I personally would not like it if you got upset, so I am ready to talk. What would you like to talk about? He looked at me with an expectant expression. Hutting my eyes, I tried to get out all the frustration out of my system. Opening my eyes again, I glanced over at Edward who was looking at me with an anxious expression. "What's wrong Bella? Do you not feel well?" Edward was worried about me, again. Even though I loved Edward to death, all of his worrying was beginning to get on my nerves.

"I'm fine. What happened last night? Obviously you are able to come back to Washington, but what happened? Is the pack all right? Or did you have to . . . Um . . . Kill them?" I really hoped that they didn't have to kill them, but I knew that it was probably just wishful thinking. After all, that pack was very stubborn. I doubt they would just let the Cullens walk away.

Giving me a grim smile, Edward grabbed my hand, rubbing his thumb on the palm of my hand, and said "I'm sorry Bella, we had to do it. It was either us or them. While I don't exactly love the cards that were dealt, I would rather stay 'alive' and be with you. I'm also pretty sure that everyone else doesn't want to die because of werewolves." When he spoke, his voice full of comfort for me and a century's worth of guilt for him, but when he spoke the word 'werewolves', he spat it out like it was causing a bad taste in his mouth.

"Edward, its ok. I'm not mad or anything, I was just curious. Don't feel bad, guilty, or anything like that. You did what you had to do." I gave him a comforting smile and leaned my head on his shoulder. Breathing in deeply, I nestled my face into his shoulder, taking in his scent. He didn't smell like anything you would find in a bottle of cologne or aftershave or anything like that. His smell was pure Edward. Edward wrapped his right arm around me and pulled me closer to him. Taking his eyes off of the road, he leaned down and kissed the top of my head. I gave a small smile and allowed myself to drift off into a deep dreamless sleep.

"Bella . . . Bella. It's time to wake up. Bella. Come on, we are five minutes away from your house. Bella, come on sweetie, it's time to get up." I groaned not wanting to wake up just yet. Snuggling my head deeper into his shoulder, mumbling incoherent words. I was so tired! When he started to chuckle, I actually hit him! I was tired and I did not want to be disturbed. "Ok Bella, that was not nice. If you don't get up, I will call Alice about going shopping today. It's only three right now." No matter what Edward threatened me with, I was just too tired to care.

Edward dropped his head down to mine and kissed my forehead before he picked me up and took me to the house. Charlie wasn't home yet, so he was able to take me up to my bed without Charlie seeing us.

Setting me down on my bed, kneeled down next to the bed and softly whispered in my ear, "Bella, I have to go take my car back to the house and unpack everything. I will come back when I'm done, hopefully I will be back before you wake." Kissing me softly on the lips, he stood up, brushed a wisp of hair off of my face, and left my room with one last glance at me. I watched him leave, not really comprehending what he was saying or doing.

This was really strange. I shouldn't be this tired, by now I should of had enough sleep. I may not have been caught up on it completely, but still! Deciding that I was too tired to think about this any longer, I turned so I was lying on my side in the fetal position, I wrapped my blanket around me and made sure that I was fully covered, even my head, before I fell into a deep sleep.

I woke up to someone placing a cool cloth on my forehead and a really bad headache. Moaning slightly at the pain, I turned and saw Edward looking at me with a grim expression. I moaned again, I felt like my head was about to explode into a million different pieces. Gazing at me with sympathetic eyes, Edward softly said, "Bella, you have a fever of a 102. You're sick." I was sick?! That would explain why I was extremely tired. . .

When I tried to speak, my voice came out all raspy, so I decided to not attempt to do it again. Edward gave me another sympathetic look before disappearing in the blink of an eye. Slowly turning my head, I looked around the room to see where he could have gone. While I was glancing around the room, my bedroom door slowly opened. Looking at the door, I saw a head pop inside of my room. "Dad?" I some how managed to croak out. "What are you doing home?" I questioned, thinking it was still early in the afternoon.

Charlie chuckled slightly before walking into the room warily, almost as if he was expecting someone to jump out and attack him. "Well Bells, its ten o'clock at night, I think I have every right to be home and look after my sick daughter." Chuckling once more, he walked over to my bed and sat down a at the end of it. "How are you feeling? When I came home, you were in bed asleep, moaning because of the fever." He scooted over on the bed closer to my head so he could lay his hand across my forehead and then my cheek. Grimacing slightly, he began to mumble, "I think your fever has risen. If this keeps up, I'm going to have to take you to the hospital. When I came in last with a head thermometer, your temp was 100.3, let me check it again." Reaching over to my bedside table, he grabbed the thermometer which was currently residing next to my alarm clock. Placing it at my temple, he slowly slid it over my forehead to my other temple. Looking at the screen, he waited for it to beep, when he did, he set it down with another grimace on his face. "Just what I though, its 102.7. If it hits 103, I'm taking you to the hospital.

Standing up, he pulled on the bottom of his shirt, straightening it, and said, "I'll be right back with a glass of water, soup, crackers, and some ibuprofen." Giving me one last look, he walked out and closed the door behind him. As soon as the door clicked, showing that it was completely closed, Edward was right by my side, placing the cool cloth on my head once again. Finally deciding to talk again, I opened my mouth and softly whispered, "How did I get sick? I don't get sick, I never do! Ugh, make the pain go away." I pressed my head into the pillow, almost as if the pressure would force the pain to evacuate its new home, my skull.

As I moaned yet again, Edward gave me a small smile and cheekily said, "Bella, everyone gets sick. As for how, there are a number of ways it could have happened. The number one way, and most common, is that you touched something that had germs, it entered your body, and now your body is fighting it off with heat. There are a number of other ways it could of happened, but I won't bore you with the complexity of it. Your feverish brain might not be able to comprehend what I am saying." Giving me a cheeky smile, he swept his hand across my head, allowing the coldness of it to cool me down. However, my fever was so high that his hand was _too _cold.

I squirmed away from his hand, normally I loved the coolness of his skin, but this was too much. At first he gave me a hurt look, thinking I was turning him away. Then the realization hit him in the face at a 100 miles per hours. Smiling apologetically, he grabbed the cool cloth and placed it on my head again.

"Bella, I don't know how you got sick. We can't carry germs, so it wasn't from us, it was probably those dogs." Even though 'those dogs' were deceased and no longer with the living, Edward still spoke of them with such malice in his voice, almost as if he wished they could come back to life so he could kill them again.

Speaking of those dogs, what exactly happened out there? Just as I opened my mouth and was about to question him further, the door opened and Charlie came in with a tray. On the tray was a tall glass of luke warm water, a package of crackers, a grilled cheese sandwich, two tablets of ibuprofen, and my favorite, tomato soup. I loved tomato soup, especially with a good, old fashioned, grilled cheese sandwich.

This time, however, I was a bit hesitant. After all Charlie cooked it. The soup I wasn't so much worried about, it came from a can, all he had to do was stuff it in a microwave. The sandwich was what I was had me worried. He had to oil a pan, place bread on it, toast it, flip it, place cheese on it, place another piece of bread next to the first, toast it, place the toasted side of the bread on the cheese, and flip the whole thing. Way too much cooking for Charlie.

Smiling gratefully at him, I quickly popped the pills and downed three quarters of a glass of water. One would think that after the amount of medicine I have had to take because of my . . . malfunctions, I would be a pro at swallowing pills. Nope, so not the case. I was horrible at it. If I didn't take enough water, I'd choke, which would not be a good thing. Not a good thing at all.

I sat up carefully, as to not knock over any hot liquids with my clumsiness. After I sat up, Charlie looked as if he would rather not place the tray on my lap. I can honestly say, I didn't blame him. I was just too clumsy. Giving an encouraging smile, I beckoned for him to give me my food. I was really hungry, so hungry that his grilled cheese sandwich sounded quite appetizing. As he cautiously placed the tray on my lap, I smiled in ecstacy. Charlie gave me a soft smile and started to leave. Just as he reached the door, I called out. "Dad? Thanks. For everything." Charlie walked back into the room and sat down on the bed next to me. Careful to spill or dump anything. It wasn't my mother that I received a certain trait from.

"Bells, you are very welcome. You deserve all of the stuff that you get. All though, you don't get very much. You're an easy kid to please." Kissing my flaming forehead, he sat up and began to walk away. Closing the door behind him once more, the door clicked once again, as if saying, 'hear ye, hear ye, I am closed, all vampires are allowed to come out of their hiding spots. Unless your evil like the deceased Victoria and James. If you are evil you can just go away and run for your lives.' Ok, so maybe my fever was beginning to affect my brain. I was obviously not in the right state of mind, what kind of sane person imagines that doors are talking? None that I know of.

As soon as the door clicked, Edward was right by my side, using one hand to hold the tray and not allow it to topple over. His eyes kept flickering back and forward. Watching me and the tray. We didn't say anything. I just ate and he just watched me and the tray. When I finished with my dinner, Edward grabbed the tray with two hands, not once taking his eyes off of me, and placed the tray on the ground next to his feet.

Standing up, he walked over to the other side of the bed and lied down on top of the covers. Lifting my back up slightly, he placed his arm underneath me and pulled me closer to his cold, stone like body. Since there was a blanket I was able to snuggle up closer to him. "Edward," I softly whispered, "What happens from here? Where do we go after this? Just continue with our everyday life? Go to school, attempt to get into a good school, well, me at least, you'll make it into any school you apply for.?" I was very curious about it. It was our last year of Forks highschool, and there was still a whole school year ahead of us.

"I don't know Bella, we'll figure out something."


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

The next morning I woke up with a gentle throbbing in my head. Keeping my eyes clenched shut, I tried to fall back a sleep, but there was this unnerving feeling that someone was watching me. Normally I would have assumed that it was Edward or Charlie or even Alice trying to take me to the mall. My eyes flickered open to show a dark, tawny face leering at me. I jerked my eyes open all the way and gasped. There was some strange man in my room! I opened my mouth to scream, but he covered my mouth with a large hand and said, "Shut up or else you'll wake up the whole town of Forks!" Um, that would be the purpose of screaming. My eyes darted to my bed stand so I could look at the clock. Three a.m.? Where was Edward, I thought he stayed with me all night?

I whimpered softly, I was in no condition to be kidnapped, again, or whatever else he had in mind. I gulped, I don't even want to think about that. I blinked several times, trying to think of a way I could get out of this, but it was useless. My mind was a complete blank. My feverish brain was beginning to take a toll on me. Normally I would have attempted to bite his hand, but he had clamped my mouth tightly shut. I whimpered again, pleading with my eyes, but all I go was a look of disgust.

After a few minutes of glancing around my room and sniffing the air, he turned back to me and said, "I will let you go on one condition. You cannot make a sound. Is that understood?" I gave a nod, wishing that he would just leave. I didn't know him, so what could he possibly want with me? Well, I guess he is the same size of the rest of the deceased Pack and he has the same tawny skin, but he couldn't be a wolf. Could he?

As soon as his hand was off of my mouth I sat up and loudly whispered, "Who are you and what are you doing in my room attacking me?" I was mad, shocked, confused, and my voice was drenched with those emotions. My unwanted visitor chuckled upon hearing my answer. As he extended his hand to shake my hand, he said, "Name's Quil Ateara and I am here to seek revenge for my fallen Pack mates." OK, two things. One, why is everyone seeking revenge by going after me? And two, could he be any more cliche? It's been used already, doesn't he remember Victoria? Mate for mate? Yeah, she had that whole revenge thing going on also. But, seriously though, why do they keep coming after me? Well, I guess it's better than them going after the Cullens. I shuddered, I didn't want to think about the Cullens being hurt, especially if it was my fault.

As I glared up at him, I took the those few seconds to look him over, tall, big, caramel skin, short black hair, and an extremely hot body. OK, that may have sounded wrong, I meant temperature wise. I opened my mouth to speak, but instead of words coming out, there was an angry growl. OK, that definitely didn't come from me. My body doesn't produce such noises. Quil stiffened and looked toward the window, nose scrunched up as if smelling something bad. His body began to shake and I did the first thing that came to me, I scampered. I quickly kicked off my sheets and toward the door, only to run into a wall. A wall? Glancing up, I saw Edward, eyes pitch black and a look of anger on his face that sent shivers down my spine. Quickly picking me up, he tucked me underneath his arms and ran past Emmett, who was standing to the right of the window, out of the window and landed with a soft thud on the ground. Still running, he took me to the woods and set me down on my feet. Both of us were completely silent. I just stood there, still in shock. Shock? Again? I think that my mind has been under too much stress. If this continues, I just might have to admit myself into the nearby asylum.

Edward looked at me with a worried expression. His eyes flickered over my body, checking for any wounds. When he was finally sated, he swung me back into his arms, holding me recklessly tight. Nuzzling his face in my hair, he softly whispered into my ear, "I can't lose you Bella. I have to take you somewhere. Somewhere far away." Pulling back slightly, his dark brown eyes flickered, glancing at each of my light brown ones, searching for an answer to some unasked question. "I don't where I could possibly take you though. Everyone seems to be after you. Just because you're a human. A human fraternizing with a monster." As he closed his eyes, I felt that old, familiar grief emit from is body. Great, he was blaming himself again. "Edward, its OK. We'll get through in the end. We always do. Sure, I may be accident prone and my number may be up, but _you're_ with me. It doesn't matter, because I know you will always be there to save me. Haven't you noticed yet, you have remarkable timing?" I let out a small laugh, trying to lighten the mood.

His eyes opened, they had turned back into a gold color, still a little dark, but gold nonetheless. "Bella, I just don't know if I can continue doing this. I told you once before, I don't mind saving you, it's the fact that its always me placing you in that danger. I just can't do this any more." My eyes widened in fear. What was he saying? Was he wanting to leave me? Don't think I would be able to survive if he left, I can barely endure a two day hunting a trip. I backed away, shaking my head. No, that wasn't possible, he couldn't leave me! Well, he _could_, its just a matter of wouldn't. He wouldn't leave me, he loved me too much. Didn't he?

"Edward no, I'm not going to let you leave. If you were gone, I might as well, donate my body to a ravenous vampire. I won't live without you. I won't!" His eyes widened in shock. I guess he wasn't expecting me to say that. He shook his head, his expression hurt. "Bella, you couldn't possibly think I would ever leave you? I love you too much Bella. I'm too selfish, I wouldn't be able to leave you, just for my own sake. I couldn't. I don't have the strength for that." Grabbing my arms, he pulled me closer to him, his face merely centimeters away from mine. As he began to speak, his cold, sweet breath tickled my face, making my mind go fuzzy. "I'm not talking about leaving you, I'm talking about Changing you. As much as I don't want to, it may be the only option. Oh, Bella, I can't survive without you." He broke away, obviously distraught at what he just said.

I knew he didn't want to Change me, he doesn't want to condemn me and I understand that, but I wanted to be like him. Like he said, he wouldn't have to save me so much then. I could be Lois Lane and a little bit of Clark Kent also then. No more feelings of guilt. No more regrets. But, as much as I wanted this, I didn't want it to happen like this. I wanted him to actually want it also. Not doing it just because he felt he had to. I didn't want that. "No Edward." I whispered, my voice so soft that I couldn't even hear it. I shook my head and wrapped my arms around his neck. "No. I don't want to be Changed. Not like this. When I'm Changed, I want it to be because you want it, not because you have to, or feel as if you have to." I raised my voice slightly, but still a whisper. "There are other alternatives. We'll go away somewhere, hide out for however long it takes. I don't want you to leave and I don''t want to be Changed. All I need is you there with me. That's good enough, for forever." His eyes flickered up again meeting mine, he remembered the night of the prom. The conversation we had, which coincidently, also had to do with my mortality.

He nodded, acknowledging my words, before he leaned over and lightly pressed his lips against mine. Even though my arms were already around his neck, I held perfectly still. I breathed out a sigh in relief, there was no undercurrent of anything in this kiss, just the same old kiss I got every day from him. Smiling slightly, I pushed myself a little closer to him. Close enough to get that extra kick, but not too close, as to break a boundary. The corner of lips turned up in a small smile also, he pulled away from me saying, "Come on, lets go see if Emmett took care of the mutt." I rolled my eyes smiling, maybe things would finally get back to normal. But first, we have to get past everything. We still have to overcome so many things, before we can finally live in peace. It will be hard, but I know we can make it.


End file.
